Arale Norimaki (Dragon Ball Series)
Arale Norimaki (則巻アラレ, Norimaki Arare) is the main protagonist to the Dr. Slump series created by Akira Toriyama, and as well as a minor character in the Dragon Ball manga and anime. She is an android built by Senbei Norimaki, known for her naiveté, energetic personality, superhuman strength, and lack of common sense. She is also nearsighted and needs to wear glasses. Senbei's mission is to convince the other citizens of Penguin Village that Arale is no more than a typical 13-year-old girl, which they appear to believe in, despite taking notice to Arale's numerous displays of superhuman athletic capability. Creation and concept Akira Toriyama was told to put in a robot as the co-lead by his editor Kazuhiko Torishima when he mentioned that he wanted to make a manga about a doctor. Initially Toriyama planned on making the robot big, but decided that it would end up being too big to fit in the panels and decided to make it small. Torishima didn't like the idea, so Toriyama created the robot girl Arale, since Torishima liked girls.. Appearance Arale has the appearance of a little girl with purple hair and wears glasses. Over the years of the series run, Toriyama tended to end up drawing Arale shorter and making her look a lot younger than her appearance at the beginning of the series. During the reboot, she was slightly redesigned, given brown hair and hazel eyes. Personality Arale's résumé describes her as enjoying the hobby of poking 'poop', disliking boredom, having the talent of feminine allure, and being born on the '17th of Flying Fish'. A comic relief that appears in many volumes and episodes of Dr. Slump is that Arale, having been designed as a child, complains about not having a "big enough chest", a desire which Senbei declines to fulfill. Her disappointment in this may allude to Arale's inheritance of some of the perversion of her maker. She also tends to lift her shirt with no regard; doing so on one occasion simply to gesture as she asks Senbei if she can launch rockets from her chest. Biography Dr. Slump Creation and starting school Arale Norimaki was created in the laboratory located in the house of Senbei Norimaki. When she was first brought out into the outside world around the town of Penguin Village, she was introduced to Aoi, who was the manager of a cafe called the Coffee Pot. There, Arale was given the identity of being Senbei's younger sister to hide the fact that she was an android. The next day, Arale enrolled into Penguin Village Middle School to fit in with the other kids after meeting the Headmaster. Her teacher was Midori Yamabuki, who was Senbei's dream girl. In class she was sat next to Akane Kimidori, the rebellious younger sister of Aoi. Arale shocked everybody at the school on her first day with her intelligence during class and strength during P.E. At the end of the day, she followed Akane who was meeting up with Taro Soramame and his younger brother Peasuke. Not knowing Arale's power, Taro tries to intimidate Arale by punching a soda can, but she easily destroys a wire pole in front of them making them scared and gain respect for Arale as their friend. Arale became popular enough at Penguin Village Middle School to the point that every club in the school wanted her, but she ended up being too good for all of them. She eventually joined Akane's club, the Sukeban Deka Fan Club. Testing the Time Slipper and discovering Gatchan After Senbei finishes working on a time machine named Mr. Time, he shows it to Arale who accidentally gets transported through time. After spending some time in the past, she transports back to the present, proving Mr. Time to be a success. After the Time Slipper was successfully tested, Arale goes on a journey with Senbei and Peasuke to the prehistoric ages to capture a dinosaur. While they're there, Peasuke's prehistoric ancestor gives them a mysterious egg in exchange for Senbei's lighter. When they return to the present the egg hatched and it turned out to be a strange baby with wings instead of a dinosaur. Arale named the baby Gadzilla, Gatchan for short, after convincing Senbei to keep it. The next day, Arale and Senbei decided to find out how they were going to deal with raising Gatchan and Arale found out that Gatchan eats metal (among other things). When Arale threw Gatchan really high on accident while playing with it, it fell into the ground revealing that Gatchan can survive that. Later that night in the bath, Arale and Senbei discover that Gatchan had wings. Barbershop panic Sometime after Arale started 8th grade, she came across a bank robber while she was out playing with Gatchan who was running away from the Police when he accidentally robbed the police station instead of the bank. The bank robber thought Arale and Gatchan were just innocent kids and decided to take them as hostages and hide in an abandoned hut. While there Arale tries to play Ultraman with the robber and then accidentally shoots herself in the face with his gun frightening him thinking she killed herself but didn't actually affect her and instead only broke her glasses. Instead the robber chose to distract Arale by having her blind folded and try to find him and hit him with a stick like a pinata which she ended up destroying the entire hut with the stick trying to find him. The robber tried to threaten Arale afterwards by holding his gun to Gatchan but when Gatchan ate it, he ran away scared trying to find the police as he would prefer to be arrested then dealing with them. Four weeks later, while studying with Peasuke and Akane at the Soramame Barber Shop, the bank robber returned and tried to take Senbei and Kurikinton as hostages after suffering humiliation from his last appearance to prove he is not a joke. When the police arrive, the kids come into the front area to see what is going on and the bank robber sees that Arale and Gatchan is among the group and decides to run out and turn himself into them but Gyaosu yells at him for being a coward and forces him to go back into the barbershop and continue what he started. rale continues to playfully mess around with the bank robber as one of the hostages in the barbershop. Kenta Kuraaku of the Penguin News Network shows up to interview the bank robber but mistakenly ends up interviewing the "hostages" instead until he is amazed when Gatchan eats the microphone which Akane tells him is nothing compared to Arale who can break the Moon with a rock. As night approaches, Kenta continues his news broadcast and focuses on Arale instead who takes a rock and throws it directly at the moon splitting it in half and during the excitement of the crowd watching what Arale is capable of, the robber walks away saying that he will never rob again. Saving Earth from King Nikochan One night when Arale and Gatchan were up really late playing, a giant dice landing in the front yard of the Norimaki house and they went in front to check it out. When they went up to it, it turned into a flypaper trap and they were taken aboard King Nikochan's spaceship by King Nikochan's servant when he was asked to bring some Earthlings. While on the ship, Arale met King Nikochan, the evil king to an alien race called the Nikos. Arale insulted King Nikochan because of his funny looks and did not take anything he said seriously. After they destroyed Mars to try to get her attention, she was too busy messing around with Gatchan. When the Nikos were getting the laser to destroy Earth next, the ship got eaten by Gatchan, which saved the planet. After the ship was eaten, Arale told them that Senbei can build them a new ship and decided to save the Nikos by having Gatchan fly them to Earth's atmosphere into Penguin Village. On the way to her house, Arale introduced the Nikos to stuff on Earth such as mountains and poop. After she introduced the Nikos to Senbei to have him build them some new transportation, she took them to the Coffee Pot and show her friends the Nikos and all the goofy stuff they do. When they were done and left with the new vehicle Senbei built for them, Arale tells Senbei that they were aliens and that he didn't know and he accidentally built them a car instead of a spaceship, still stranding the Nikos on Earth. Fighting Dr. Mashirito Arale becomes a target for Dr. Mashirito when he finds out that she is the strongest robot around. Mashirito comes to Penguin Village to fight Arale using his robot, Caramel Man 001, but Arale easily beats him. Arale's second encounter with Dr. Mashirito is during the Penguin Village Grand Prix which is held by Tori-Bot. During the race, Arale has no problem even with several distractions setting her back. When it comes down to the last three racers which are her, Senbei and Dr. Mashirito using his Caramel Man 002, the winner is Arale but by technicality Tori-Bot declares himself the winner. Shortly after assembling into a team with Sourman, Gatchan and Mr. Pig called the Global Defense Force, Mashirito comes back with his new invention, Caramel Man 003, and his new team, the Mashirito Army, consisting of him, King Nikochan and King Nikochan's Servant. Mashirito's new plan for handling Arale is using a Poop-bot to distract her while he shoots her with a powerful laser, with Gatchan captured in a rubber claw to prevent him from eating the rest of the robot. While Arale is distracted by the Poop-bot, Mr. Pig pops one of Caramel Man 003's tires, causing Arale to pay attention to the fight again, where she headbutts the robot to free Gatchan so he can eat the Robot, leaving Mashirito defeated again. Mashirito's next conflict with Arale is when he creates his fourth Caramel Man which is known as Obotchaman. Instead of trying to destroy Arale, Obotchaman becomes good and falls in love with her. After a few more conflicts with the various Caramel Man, Arale encounters a fully cyborg Mashirito in a martial arts tournament. Being matched up against him in the final round, Arale battles him but then ends up shutting down in battle and Obotchaman disguised as Arale finishes off Mashirito in the final battle killing him and Arale is declared the champion. Dragon Ball Red Ribbon Army Saga When spring break starts for Arale and the other students of Penguin Village High School, Arale and the Gatchans witness the sky chase between Goku and the Red Ribbon Army member General Blue. Arale ends up meeting Goku when he falls off of the Flying Nimbus in front of her. When Goku calls back his nimbus to go fly over to the wreckage of General Blue's plane, Arale is amazed at his flying cloud and runs after him. At the site of the broken plane, Goku panics as General Blue and his Dragon Balls are nowhere to be found, and he is then surprised when Arale and the Gatchans appear right before him wondering where they train since they are so fast. Goku tries to use the Dragon Radar to find where Blue ran off to with the Dragon Balls but its broken, so Arale tells Goku that she knows a doctor who can fix it. Arale offers to show where Senbei is and proves to be able to ride the Flying Nimbus along with the Gatchans, indicating that they are pure of heart. When General Blue makes his way to the Norimaki household to kill Goku and steal Senbei's plane, Arale ends up briefly held hostage by Blue, with his placing a knife near her neck with the intent to slit it if Goku didn't surrender the Dragon Radar, although Senbei warned him that using a knife to threaten her was a bad idea, which was confirmed when she licked the blade, to Blue's shock. After Goku was disabled by Blue's special ability, Arale saves Goku by launches him into the air with a headbutt, knocking him away to an Egypt-like country. Arale's strength impresses Goku, which makes him admit that she is way stronger than he is and he tells her that she should fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament before leaving. Arale becomes the mayor of Penguin Village after winning the 2nd Annual Penguin Village Grand Prix. Ten years later in Age 759, she marries Obotchaman and moves in with him and they raise a robot child together that Senbei created. It is confirmed that Arale lives past the age of 73 in Age 805 with no physical changes since she is an android Interlude Arale becomes the mayor of Penguin Village after winning the 2nd Annual Penguin Village Grand Prix. Ten years later in Age 759, she marries Obotchaman and moves in with him and they raise a robot child together that Senbei created. Arale along with the rest of Earth's population was killed during the Majin Buu conflict but were all later resurrected by the Namekian dragon Porunga. She died again later when Frieza destroyed the Earth in an attempt to kill the Z Fighters, but her death was undone when Whis used his Temporal Do-Over technique. It is confirmed that Arale lives past the age of 73 having no physical changes in Age 805 since she is an android. Dragon Ball Super Universe 6 Saga While in Penguin Village, Arale is poking poop when Goku unintentionally shows up with the use of his Instant Transmission. Arale greets Goku, but he immediately uses his Instant Transmission to attempt in reaching King Kai's planet. "Future" Trunks Saga During the "Future" Trunks Saga, Arale makes another appearance in Dragon Ball Super. During a world invention conference in West City, she has taken a dose of Playtime X fed to her by the ghost form of Dr. Mashirito. Vegeta agrees to play with her but she clearly outclasses him and Vegeta admits to never wanting to fight a gag character ever again. After recognizing Goku she does a beam battle with him as Super Saiyan Blue which ends in a draw. Arale wants to do it again but 100x stronger. Bulma is able to summon Beerus who destroys Ghost Mashirito and then throws back Arale, who remains completely unfazed, despite her head coming off again. Just as he is about to attack her, he is incapacitated by all the delicious food he had just eaten. The Playtime X then wears off, and Senbei apologizes, while Goku and Arale hope to fight again. Film appearances Mystical Adventure Arale launches a boulder at General Tao while he is above Penguin Village, riding a pillar in pursuit of Goku. After he face plants into the ground, she and the Gatchans poke him with a stick. She survives getting hit directly by his Dodon Ray. Soon, Arale and Goku defeat Tao when he steals Goku's Dragon Balls and launches missiles at them while fleeing on a flying vehicle. Transformations Ultraman Arale "transforms" into the hero Ultraman in order to prove to Donbe that she is capable of transforming. She demonstrates this "ability" by turning on a flashlight and saying "Ultraman! Schwaaa!" before changing her clothes into a spandex superhero jumpsuit, and then repeating "Schwaaa!" Adult Arale was shown to have a desire to be rebuilt as an adult and Senbei promised her that he would do it eventually. While he never got around to it, Turbo built Arale a watch in the Dr. Slump returns manga that can temporarily transform her into an adult form. Super Saiyan-esque form As shown in the 28th episode of the Dr. Slump remake, Arale is capable of taking on her own Super Saiyan-esque form. She utilizes this state against a long haired human boy who is capable of undergoing a silver haired Super Saiyan-like transformation. Fusions Arale 18 In Dragon Ball Fusions, Arale can use EX-Fusion with Android 18 to create Arale 18. Towale In Dragon Ball Fusions, Arale can use EX-Fusion with Towa to create Towale. Appearences in other media Live-action Ayami Nakajo plays Arale in a live-action Dr. Slump themed commercial for GU clothing store. In the commercial she holds a poop on a stick while standing in front Taro, Peasuke, Akane, Kinoko and Gatchan and then briefly poofs into an outfit sold at the GU store and then transforms back saying bye-cha to the camera. Video games Arale first appeared in a 1982 handheld game Dr. Slump Arale Part I: Hoyoyo Bomber. She later appeared in a Dr. Slump video game for the Arcadia 2001 released in 1983, in a Dr. Slump game for PlayStation based on the second television series in 1999, and in Dr. Slump: Arale-Chan for Nintendo DS in 2008. Arale appears in Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu and Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen, and she is the final special boss of Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden. She also appears in Dragon Ball Heroes. Arale is a playable character in several Jump video games, including Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden, Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, and J-Stars Victory Vs. She is also a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact, Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, Dr. Slump: Arale-Chan, Dragon Ball: Origins 2, Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle ''and Dragon Ball Fusions.'' The "Dream Match: Goku vs. Arale" story in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 depicts a world in which Arale challenges Goku to a game of wrestling and is barely defeated by him, with Goku praising her for her power. Though she does not appear physically in Dragon Ball: Xenoverse, there are two accessories based on her available for Ace to wear, Arale-chan's Cap and Arale-chan's Poop Stick, both of which can be purchased at the Accessory Shop in Toki Toki City. Arale is also in Dragon Ball Fusions and has a Fusion with Towa called Towale. Voice actresses * Japanese: Mami Koyama (1981 series, Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball Super), Taeko Kawata (1997 series) * English dubs ** Harmony Gold dub: Arlene Banas ** FUNimation dub: Linda Chambers-Young (anime), Brina Palencia (video games) ** Blue Water dub: Leda Davies (Dragon Ball) * Brazilian Portuguese dub: Jussara Marques * Spanish dubs: * Castillian: Ana Fernández (Dragon Ball), Ana Pallejà (Dr. Slump OVAs), Mónica Padrós (Dr. Slump) * Latin America: Mónica Estrada (Dr. Slump), Claudia Motta (Dr. Slump 2), Vanessa Garcel (Dragon Ball), Gaby Ugarte (Mystical Adventure) * Italian: Francesca Rossiello (1981 series), Irene Scalzo (Dragon Ball), Perla Liberatori (OVAs and Mystical Adventure), Patrizia Scianca (1997 series, redub of 1981 series and redub of Mystical Adventure) Trivia * Her name is a pun on the Japanese word for a small senbei (あられ, arare), a bite-sized rice cracker. With the family name ("Norimaki Arare"), it refers to a sort of arare wrapped with nori seaweed. * There is a girl seen in the crowd in "Krillin's Frantic Attack!" that looks a lot like Arale. * Toriyama reused Arale's character design for the character Lucca in the video game Chrono Trigger. * In Budokai Tenkaichi 3, before the player engages in battle with Arale in the story mode, Kibito Kai states "I used to be a fan of her!". * In episode 15 of Samurai Champloo, there is a scene where Mugen makes an impression of Arale's signature run by sticking his arms out and making the sound, "Kiin". * In the 1985 Jackie Chan film My Lucky Stars, there is a scene where Jackie Chan's character wanders around a theme park in disguise wearing a giant Arale costume and even gets into a fight while wearing it. Gallery Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Dragon Ball Category:Dragon Ball Characters Category:Dragon Ball Heroes